• New York: quarantined the largest focus of coronavirus in the US
  • Coronavirus.Trump suspends for 30 days all flights from Europe to the US

New York will ban any gathering or event that brings together more than 500 people in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, state governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.

The measure will take effect on Friday afternoon, except in the case of Broadway theaters, where it will begin to be applied this Thursday, in which it will effectively close the great mecca of performing arts in the United States. .

The ban will not affect schools, hospitals, nursing homes or the public transportation system , Cuomo explained at a press conference.

Large office buildings, for example, will not be affected either, since the measure refers to congregations of more than 500 people in the same room, not spread over several spaces of a building, the governor said.

For places with a capacity of less than 500 people, occupancy will be required to be below 50 percent at all times, in order to reduce density and limit the risk of infection.

328 CASES IN THE STATE

These drastic measures come when a total of 328 people with coronavirus have been detected in New York State , 112 more cases than the previous day. At the moment, no patient has died.

The figure, Cuomo insisted, surely represents only a fraction of all New Yorkers with the virus, given that the number of tests remains limited .

So far, he confirmed, 2,314 tests have been carried out in New York state since the start of the outbreak, but authorities are working against the clock to increase capacity as quickly as possible. Thus, 28 state laboratories have been authorized to carry out these tests and agreements are being reached with others at the national level to multiply the number of tests that can be done each day.

This will mean, according to the governor, that the number of confirmed cases will continue to increase significantly in the coming days, in line with the trajectories that have been seen in countries such as China, South Korea or Italy.

For now, New York has chosen not to close primary and secondary schools unless there are possible cases of the disease, but on the eve it has already advanced plans to close public universities.

This Thursday, the Archdiocese of New York announced that it will close its elementary schools next week, affecting more than 19,000 students, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, New York continues to operate its huge public transportation system as normal , which is already experiencing clear reductions in the number of passengers, as confirmed by Cuomo.

The highest concentration of cases in the state occurs in the town of New Rochelle, just outside the Big Apple, with a total of 148 in Westchester County, of which it is a part.

Within New York City, 95 cases have been registered, with 43 new from the previous day, according to data provided by the governor.

PREPARING THE SANITARY SYSTEM

Cuomo insisted that one of the major concerns is to ensure that the health system is ready to respond to a large number of cases, so work is being done to create a "pool" of medical professionals who are not currently working and who They could be used in case of staff shortages.

He also raised the possibility of asking to delay non-urgent surgeries , in order to free up to 35 percent of hospital beds.

In addition, measures are being intensified in senior centers and nursing homes, where all staff must wear masks and visits will be prohibited.

NEW JERSEY ALSO TAKES MEASURES

Neighboring New Jersey, meanwhile, has decided to recommend canceling congregations of more than 250 people , including concerts, sports competitions, or parades.

There, 29 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed for the moment, with one person dead, and 37 more that are being analyzed.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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